Kristoffer Ajer is facing a crucial period at Celtic with Brendan Rodgers’ defence decimated by further injuries.
Kristoffer Ajer might have hoped his chance had arrived at Celtic with both Dedryck Boyata and Erik Sviatchenko absent through injury in the opening weeks of the season.
Instead, however, the 19-year-old was trusted to make just four appearances for the Scottish Champions with converted midfielder Nir Bitton often fielded alongside first-choice central defender Jozo Simunovic.
As it stands, Ajer’s last outing in a Celtic shirt was that nerve-shredding 4-3 Champions League qualifying defeat to Astana. Diverting the ball into his own net to set Celtic on their way to a humbling defeat, the Norwegian youngster hasn’t been seen since.
But with Simunovic suffering a serious thigh injury in the lead up to the international break, Ajer may have been handed a lifeline.
The Daily Record report that Simunovic (below) could be out for up to two months with a hamstring problem and Brendan Rodgers’ selection headache has not been helped by news that Mikael Lustig, who has played centrally in a back three of late, is a doubt for the crucial Champions League clash with Bayern Munich later in the month.
Ajer, then, could be facing a crucial period in his Celtic career. The teenager told The Express in July that Rodgers saw him as a centre-back rather than a defensive midfielder and now is the time for the manager to stand by his young talent.
If Ajer does not force his way into the Celtic first-team with both Lustig and Simunovic on the sidelines, you wonder when his opportunity will ever arise again.
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